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Thursday, April 28, 2016

We are big supporters of local hair brands as you may have read in our previous posts, however you know how you find yourself watching an endless amount of YouTube videos and all the ladies are using one product line. It only leads to FOMO!

That was me and SheaMoisture, I have always wanted to use the holy grail of natural hair product lines and was over the moon to find them at Goodlife Pharmacy!

As part of the #kurlykichanagrowthchallenge I have been in protective styles i.e. these fabulous Mambo twists and was worried about potential breakage especially since I have been lazy and not moisturised often enough.

The product has Baobab Oil which is super for skin and hair and Cilantro (read Dhania for Kenyans) extract. It has a pleasant smell which is not overpowering. The consistency won me over, this masque is so thick you only need a few palmfuls to cover every strand on your head.

How I used it?

I took out my Mambo twists by cutting them close to the root and basically just pulled out the crocheted braiding hair from the cornrows.

I undid my cornrows and applied coconut oil to the section of hair after taking out each cornrow. I do this to make detangling easier. Once my hair is saturated with coconut oil, the tangles just melt away.

Here is my hair after soaking my hair in coconut oil for 45 mins! Pass no judgement for doing my wash day in tinted moisturiser and red lippie! Gotta look good for washday.

I then shampooed with my holy grail SheabyAsal Shampoo Bar. I normally rub the bar onto my scalp and massage my scalp with the tips of my fingers, the bubbles are my little tangle melters. The formulation of this bar is bomb, it makes finger detangling a breeze.

After rinsing, I dried my hair in a kikoy which work just as well as an ordinary t-shirt.

I then made sure my hair was about 80% dry and applied the masque in small sections all over my head to make sure each strand was covered.

At this juncture, I used a plastic paper bag and covered my head and then rocked a headwrap as I tried to kill 45 mins positioning my camera in the right spot and adjusting the settings as it was getting dark.

This masque made my hair feel sooo soft but also my fine strands felt that little bit more tough! If you have fine hair, this product is great for not weighing down your hair whilst still strengthening your strands. I absolutely love it.

Freshly washed hair, gotta love shrinkage

I am really loving this masque and it works a treat for fine natural hair, it is definitely joining my holy grail products.

You can find the entire Shea Moisture at Goodlife Pharmacies at Westgate and Junction.

Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Self-care is time dedicated to taking care of yourself; mind, body and spirit. We normally partake in self-care every weekend and this can be time spent doing a face mask, body scrub, catching up on Game of Thrones, giving yourself a spa day, going to church or doing some yoga.

Doing these things can help you de-stress whilst helping you re-focus which is super important for us millenials....Amirite?

One of our fave self-care recipes is the Brown Sugar Body Scrub. This scrub is super simple to make with ingredients that you probably have at home. All you will need is;

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Today we share the Throwdown Queen's Miss Mandi Sarro's natural hair journey, she just recently went natural but has her holy grail products and regimen down to a T!

Miss Mandi has us drooling through her Instagram feed as well as her YouTube channel. If you have not checked her out.....we shall make it easy, check out her fro as she makes these NOM chicken wings below;

1. Why did you go natural (assuming you haven’t always been natural)? How long have you been natural?

I went natural In December 2015 and to be honest I did because I was tired of the fact that my hair was so damaged it wasn't growing! I have been natural for about 4 months now but I had transitioned last year before the BC.

2. Please tell us more about your regimen

I have been learning as I have been going. I want to say now I have found a regimen that works. I pre-poo my hair with ORS deep conditioner with Coconut oil plus Olive oil then I shampoo with Shea by Asal shampoo bar (that's heavenly).

Friday, April 8, 2016

Is there anything better than buying a new lipstick? Yup, buying a cheap lippie for less than 700 bob. I have been on a spending ban and decided to buy some cheapish products that do a fantastic job.

First off, Jordana Cosmetics are now being stocked at Chandarana. Jordana is a sister company to Milani Cosmetics and their products are cheap and cheerful.

I have been dreaming of finding the perfect orange lippie and I think I found it in this Jordana Matte Lipstick in Tangerine Tango. The colour makes me feel like packing a bikini and straw hat and going off on a beach holiday.

You can buy the lippie for Kshs 450 from Chandarana Supermarket.

If you have big lips, you know glossy lipsticks and lipglosses in general can be a huge no-no. I love matte lippies as they make me feel like my lips are not taking over my whole face. However the L.A Girl Glazed Lip Paints are glossy but not overwhelmingly so. I walked into Goodlife Pharmacy in Westgate and saw these for Kshs 650 and had to try one. They are super pigmented and can easily last the whole day. I may rethink glossy lips now.

For my everyday makeup, I hardly wear foundation! I mainly conceal my spots, under eyes and around my nose and mouth. I have been using these L.A Girl Pro Concealers and they work a treat for Kshs 650 each. I have the shades Toffee and Warm Sand which are a few shades lighter than my skin but work well to brighten up my face. They are now my holy grail concealer!

Happy Friday!

Do you kurlies have any cheap make up recommendations that have become holy grail products? Would love to hear the recs in the comments.

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

When I started my natural hair journey in 2009, I thought I would have this huge bodacious fro that would have a life of its own and maybe even have a solid name like Nina or Janet. My dreams were shattered when I realised I had fine hair. This meant that my hair was built more like a Victoria's secret model than a thick thighed lady who loves Crossfit.

I have fine hair with dense thin strands, I have many follicles on my head but they are all quite thin. You can check out this post where I had mini twists in and it was more scalp than twists. I have learnt to love my thin hair and wanted to share 5 tips for working with fine natural hair.

1. Henna is Godsent!

Mary and I are stans for henna, we love the stuff! We have consistently used the same recipe and always try to do a henna treatment before a major protective style.

For fine haired naturals, henna works a treat as it not only thickens your hair by attaching to your hair cuticle it also relaxes the curl pattern by making your strands heavier and this increased weight makes your curls loosen. You can go back to this post to read more.

I purchase in bulk at Diamond Plaza and for about Kshs 100 a pack, its a steal. Also your hair will shiiiiiiiine!

2. Protein treatments once or twice a month are a must!

You know when you detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb and can sometimes hear your strands going snap!snap! Well this is a constant nightmare for fine haired naturals, as its more likely to happen coz our strands are so fine. To prevent this, protein deep conditioning treatments are your friends. You can buy various Hair Mayonnaise brands such as the one in the pic above or simply grab your mayonnaise from the fridge and apply to your hair.

Protein = Strong Strands

3. Oil your scalp

This is an order! Oiling your scalp and reveling in a quick 5 min head/scalp massage will not only leave you relaxed but has the potential to thicken your strands.

In the spirit of openness lols, I had a mishap with over protective styling and had two patches on the side of my head that were snatched by crochet braids. Since starting to use my Black Castor Oil on my scalp everyday ( read, when I remember) my edges look a million times better. You can get Black castor oil from AfroliciousKe who were featured here.

4. Your fingers were made for detangling

Apart from making me feel uber glam, being on acrylic crack has an added advantage of being the best hair tool. I use my long nails for detangling my hair and it makes the job super easy. Finger detangling for fine haired naturals helps you retain length and reduce a lot of breakage.

5. Bobby pins are lifesavers

When your twist out turns our more Medusa and less Chaka Khan grab some bobby pins and pull off an amazing updo, that is if you can find one. Bobby pins love hiding! I recently bought a pack and have a special jar to hold them, lets hope this works.

What tips do you fine haired naturals have?Share in the comments..help a fine haired sista out!

Friday, April 1, 2016

@Tindikamwetu
is sharing her natural hair story with us today. She is teacher by day and
DIYer by evening and weekend. Her regimen and DIYs are delightful, hope you
enjoy reading.

1. Why did
you go natural (assuming you haven’t always been natural)? How long have you
been natural?

I have been
natural all my life. I used to cut my hair a lot when I was younger, often
rocking a TWA (Teeny Weeny Afro) all through my teens. Once I grew it out in
Campus, I messed it all up with constant blow drying and got bad heat damage.
In 2012/2013, my sister who is a fierce Naturalista was acing her natural hair
journey and I too was inspired to go on one—that meant avoiding heat, getting a
proper hair regimen and nurturing my hair back to it’s healthy state.

Instead of
big chopping, I decided to trim my hair every so often until all the heat
damaged hair was gone. I had my last major trim this January and I am now
hoping to grow it out more. It’s through the process of recuperating the hair
that my curiosity for home-made hair treatments was sparked.

2. Please tell us more about your
regimen

My regimen
is simple.

Every week, I co-wash using Suave conditioner and deep condition
my hair using homemade DIY treatments. Every three weeks, I will shampoo using
a Sulphate free shampoo or with black soap. I also do an ACV (Apple Cider
Vinegar) rinse every weeks
to clarify my hair. After deep conditioning, I follow up with a moisturising
conditioner and rinse off
with cold water.

After that, I use a leave in conditioner and my DIY Shea/Coco
mix to seal in moisture. I make sure that I am applying it from ends to roots,
after which I section the hair and finally put it in twists or any other
desired style.

3. We love
your mixtress ways, the Carrot deep conditioner was to say the least
intriguing. What are your staple products?

I love experimenting. The carrot treatment was a great
hair-experiment. I have 5 staple products:

-In case I need a protein treatment I use some yoghurt, coconut
milk or liquid aminos.

4. What is
your favourite DIY product or DIY recipe?

I have many favourites, but gun to my head, I’d say my favourite
DIY product has got to be the homemade butter mixes, they have really worked
wonders for my hair and skin. My favourite DIY hair treatment that is
super moisturising would be Okra +Shea+ Avocado+ Coconut milk and a natural
oil. Although I have to put a disclaimer as my favourites change with very
experiment, nonetheless, I find myself drawn to the above two more often.

5. What are
your favourite hair styles?

I love
stretched hair styles, as they leave less knots and tangles, so twist outs are
most preferred by me. I usually wear them defined and parted on the side or I
fluff them out into an Afro
and when they grow old ( 3 days), I use a band to put them into a high updo.
Those are the 3 styles I tend to wear often as they are easy to do.

6. For most
naturals managing their natural hair can be difficult, what advice can you
share?

I think the word should be challenging as taking care of natural
hair is not difficult at all. It gets challenging when you compare your hair to
other naturalistas or youtubers or bloggers and you get disappointed when you
don’t achieve the same results. It also becomes challenging when you want your
hair to do what it naturally may not be able to do. I have come to be
comfortable with the fact that I won’t have bouncy loose curls like a 3a sister
but my 4a/4b tight curls satisfy me all the same and I am content.

The key to taking care of your hair is learning to LOOOOVVVEEE
it. Learning to love what
God gave you and not what you covet out there. Love it with all your heart and
the rest will fall in place. When you love your hair, you will want to find out
what works best for it and not following the masses when every new product hits
the market. You will want to take care of it and moisturise albeit lethargic
lazy lifeless moments that we all have when wash day draws nigh, or at the end
of a long day. You will want to let it out and not hide it in braids, so that
you get to learn how to take care of it and properly forge out a good regime.
You will listen to when it needs a trim instead of holding on to length that is
marred with split ends and knots. You will learn to love the challenge and bad
hair days and days when the hair just won’t behave, but you will love it
because the joy will be in discovering how to tie it up, pin roll and tuck it,
or turban it, or put a beanie on it or braid it until you get the grace for it
later; though you will still spritz it and seal moisture, as you hold back
melancholic inward tears of frustration—all for love.

Consequently and above all, when you love your hair, just like
any other thing or person you love, you will learn to be PATIENT with it and
enjoy the journey. Eventually, you will see your hair bloom into
beautiful!

~Let this apply to all things in life that you want to achieve,
love the goal more than the desire to quit and then work at itJ